Dream Job

  

Photo Credit - bookgrl

Whenever I watch "Inside the Actor's Studio", and James Lipton gets to the question "What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?", I don't even have to pause for thought! 

COLOR NAMER!

I want to be the gal who gets to play with crayons and think up names like "mango tango" or "inchworm"!  Moreover, I can think back to when I was a kid, and remember marveling over the crayon names (and wondering who occupied the whimsical office, probably situated somewhere adjacent to the Easter Bunny's, that got to make those all-important decisions). 

I was pondering the grown-up variation of this job in the wee hours of this morning as I rocked Mouse (who has a tummy bug).  You see, one of my birthday gifts (thanks to a generous gift card from my mother-in-law) was the Naked 2 eye shadow palette.  

Photo Credit - Kristina

Someone, somewhere got to think of "snakebite" for a dark coppery color!  And "busted" for a dark metallic gray (the color of handcuffs, perhaps?)!  

That's the job I want to have!

What's your most crazy, far-fetched dream job?

Weekend Links: Birthday Edition!

My birthday is tomorrow, which means the celebration has already begun (and continue with my favorite, a Pumpkin Spice Latte, first thing tomorrow).  I'm a complete and total, unapologetic Birthday Princess.  It's really not about the gifts.  Its about celebrating life and the gifts of family and friendship!  Here are some treats (mental, aesthetic, or otherwise), I've enjoyed this week.

For You

This post at Sorta Crunchy is not new, but newly forwarded to me by a friend - it made me feel immeasurably better about my own wholesome efforts, even when I fall (horribly) short.

I don't know if I should hate or thank Nadine Jolie for her post on CULT Cosmetics (monthly subscription nail art kits!).  I love that you can buy kits without subscribing, too!

I just have to share that my bestie sent me some of these pumpkin truffles for my birthday! If you have a store nearby, you can actually buy just one for a totally sensible, restrained treat! (And before you even ask, "sensible" and "restrained" absolutely belong in the same sentence with Godiva chocolates!)

Recommended by Moose and Mouse

Despite the fact that we have plenty of plastic and battery-powered toys in our house, I enjoyed this video from Bella Luna Toys on top Waldorf toys.  I'm thinking of making some play silks for Mouse (and Moose, too), although in the meantime I've given her a shoebox of some neck scarves I don't wear anymore and she LOVES them!

I'm hot to make an art box like this for Moose!  I'm only on the fence about what to include given his completely age-appropriate lack of impulse control.  I'm not entirely opposed to mess, but I do want him to be able to play independently without dire cleanup consequences later . . .

I loved these fresh (boy) book recommendations from Children's Books Daily!  I found a used copy of Hairy Maclary and sneaked it into Moose's book box (he seems more receptive to new things if he discovers them).  I can't wait for him to find it!

What about you? Any good reads or finds lately?

Fitness Friday: National Yoga Month

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Last Year I blogged (gushed) about a wonderful in-person yoga class I took with one of my bestest of friends and extolled the virtues of live yoga classes.

Want to know how many live classes I've taken since then? One.  That's it.  So much for following one's own advice.

My reality right now, with Mouse now one, Moose nearly four, and my business on the rise, is that there simply aren't enough hours in my days. Which is why I love/need more than ever at-home resources to keep me fit and centered.

So in honor of National Yoga Month (yep, September every year!) I'm sharing some of my recent yoga faves and finds.  I hope both you and I can sneak in a few minutes of Om for ourselves this September!

(1) Athleta stores (in addition to having {free} live classes all month) have some {free} yoga videos online powered by yogaglo (an online subscription class resource).

(2) I discovered Yoga with Adriene last winter when I'd been awake a lot with a wheezy Mouse and fell in love with her fresh, down-to-earth style.  One of my favorites is this 20-minute morning routine:


(3) Tara Stiles has also become a favorite yogi in my rotation (can you tell that I'm easily intimidated by yoga? so many of my faves have become that way because they seem real and approachable to me).  She has her own YouTube channel as well as some great videos on the Livestrong Woman channel (which, sadly, doesn't seem to be producing any new material since Lance Armstrong's revelations earlier this year, but the previous material is still available and is fantastic).

Happy September!

Book Review: Lean In (Or Run the Other Way?)

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I attended a women’s college in the late 1990s.  Equality was somewhat taken for granted, and where it wasn't, female superiority was assumed and advocated. That brand of feminism never appealed to me.

Which is why when Lean In was first published, my first inclination was to run the other way.  I expected a redux of my undergraduate experience.

It wasn't until a group of fellow female attorneys with whom I breakfast monthly decided to read it together that I caved.  I worked hard to suspend my preconceived notions.  I told myself that I was reading it for Mouse as much as for me.  I really, really tried.  Honest.

Let me be clear: I absolutely, unequivocally believe that women deserve an equal chance to pursue an education and rise to the pinnacle of any career she chooses.

And that is where the crux of my problem with Lean In lies: it's not about choice.  As one of my breakfast colleagues put it:  "It's reverse pigeon-holing; instead of telling us we have to be barefoot in the kitchen like the Mad Men generation, she's telling us we have to want to occupy the C-suite."

As much as Sandberg tries to placate her readers in later chapters of the book, sharing her own experiences as a new mom, and declaring that there's nothing wrong with staying at home to raise the next generation, she gives herself away in the first chapter.  For her, corporate and political leadership is not a choice, it is a moral imperative.

Instead, I think women need:

• To recognize rather than suppress the fact that we possess some uniquely feminine attributes; AND
• To figure out how to use those attributes to our advantage rather than trying to fill a man's shoes.
• To have access to women mentor figures early in life (as a teenager or college student) to help us learn to harness our strengths and discern how we want to apply those in our lives; AND
• To surround ourselves with a "boardroom" of women with whom to commiserate, bounce ideas, vent, brainstorm, and otherwise mutually encourage.

Which is why, if I ever write a book on the subject, it'll be called "True Choice: A pep rally for all women, whether they lead from the boardroom, the living room, the classroom, the courtroom, the operating room, or some combination thereof".

Have you read Lean In (or watched Sheryl Sandberg's TED Talk?  What are your thoughts?

Disclaimer: this post contains some Amazon affiliate links.

Weekend Links

Do click over to YouTube to watch! 

This batch of links has been brewing for awhile, so warning in advance if they're a bit random.

For You:

I positively lived on this green banana-apple-protein smoothie during the DietBet I completed (and won!) in June. 

I thought about making these Sungold Tomato Preserves with the gorgeous tomatoes we got from the CSA. But I accidentally ate most of the tomatoes as a snack one afternoon.  (Oops!) They were like candy!

This HIIT workout kicked my you-know-what! And I loved it!

I fell in love with Small Things because of the beautiful simplicity that came through in all of Ginny's posts. This recent installment reminds me of the reason I've stayed in love with this blog: Ginny's beautiful honesty.

If you only click over on one item in this post, please, read this article.  I'm not saying we all ought to aspire to be astronauts (stay tuned, my review of Lean In is coming up this week . . .) but I do agree that girls need solid role models in all categories!

Recommended by Moose and Mouse:

Mouse desperately wants to self-feed, but only has two teeth and is desperately uncoordinated!  My friend turned me on to these PouchPop toppers that I hoped would help prevent wild squirting!  I never really got the chance to find out, since she drew the line in the sand and refused to eat baby food going on two weeks ago.  Looks like a great idea, though!

Moose has always been a sensitive guy, and especially these days with his sister's increased mobility and toy-stealing, he's had a lot to get worked up about.  This post from Kate on Helping Kids Deal With Big Feelings came our way at just the right time!

Looking forward to making this tissue box guitar with and for Moose.  He LOVES music, and LOVES to play the air guitar, but all the ones in the stores are electronic with buttons instead of strings.

Wishing you a happy week ahead!